Bahrain-based Saudi artist, Faisal Samra travelled across six states from Chicago, IL to Denver, CO with CULTURUNNERS. In August 2015, Faisal was joined by U.S. artist Matthew Mazzotta, for a special collaboration that culminated in a community event at the The Union for Contemporary Art in Omaha, Nebraska.  At the heart of Faisal's journey was a series of encounters with artists and activists of the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota. Based at the site of the battle of Wounded Knee, Samra worked with Lakota singer, Leon Grass and his family to explore common concerns facing tribal communities in North America and Southern Arabia.

Faisal commented, “I decided to join the project because I saw how innovative it was in terms of the production and creation of art: taking it away from the conventional, static environments such as galleries and museums and transporting it to the sites of the masses. My project with CULTURUNNERS started in Chicago on 2 August 2015 and ended in Denver on 17 August 2015 and was one of the most important experiences of my long professional life.”